the blog

FPN will take you along a journey of cheap eats, fine dining and anything else in between. I do love to cook so the occasional recipe will be thrown in for good measure. Tried and tested of course! Enjoy x

If the name doesn’t grab you by the buns let alone by the balls, then surely the food and booze will. Buns and Balls is located just under Hugo’s Bar and Lounge on Bayswater Road and is headed up by Gary Linz, founder and owner of Opporto and Bondi Pizza. The new venue brings a cool and casual atmosphere to what some might consider as a bit of divey end of town. Here you can knock down a few cocktails, chink your wine glasses, grab some buns and balls around the loungey outdoor area,or you can take it inside to where the pool table or foosball is at.

Since publishing this post Buns and Balls have announced that they have closed and will be reopening in the Eastern Suburbs due to the new licensing laws.

Decked out over 4 floors of incredible space, the interior will take you into a wonderland of graffiti walls, neon lights and communal dining space with the help-yourself-arrangement of cutlery, chopsticks, hot sauce and seasonings.

Awarded a one hat out of a possible three, it is respectively the most unconventional and deviant one hatter on the scene. It is all very tongue in cheek hailing tribute to the MSG code with the flashing “six two one” neon sign out front, or perhaps it’s the thought behind their signature dessert “stoner’s delight”. The secret ingredient? The mind of a stoner. Fun and games continue with their slushie bubble tea cocktails. Cute caricatures are printed on the seal, with mouths wide open urging you to pop your straw and drink up.

For Sunday lunch, Ms G’s offers up a lunch menu at a fraction of the price – the “tick the box” menu for $45p/p. Ticking my way through the menu we are allowed to pick 2 starters, 2 small savoury dishes, 2 large savoury dishes and one dessert. Then enough food is brought out based on our per person count. Slushie Sundays also brings the price down of the bubble tea cocktails to 5 big ones instead of the usual $14.

As Excuse Me Waiter‘s plus 1, I attended the Ladies LunchBlogger Event at The Village, for a very sizeable set menu and cocktails jugs to boot. And for anyone who knows me best, surely knows that I couldn’t even stand a chance of saying no to that.

For just $39 per person on Saturdays and Sundays, you can round up the girls for wine/cocktails and a very sizeable set menu all dished up in a very stylish, sheik and modern setting.

The Antipasto Plate was a great way to kick things off and share between perfect strangers. The ginormous jug of Pimm’s was definitely enough to corrupt my poor innocent soul and get the conversation a flow, to talk to whom ever and say what ever.

Salt and pepper squid came out sweet, juicy and fresh. The aioli was so good you wanted to let the squid, sit, dip and rotate. And then sit some more in all its garlicky glory.

While tasty, I thought this dish was missing the robust flavours in an arrancini that I am used to seeing. Still the arrancini was sizeable enough lavishly covered in tomato puree, parmesan shavings.

The addition of the simple yet a tasty salad of salty feta, toasty pine nuts and roasted fleshy pumpkin helped ease the damage I was doing to my poor arteries. And let’s not forget the the tomato, basil and mozzarella salad too. Yep… anything to make me feel better. WOO! Kind of like the big mac meal with a diet coke combo.

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Quickly back on to carb mode, the margarita pizza was a simple and tasty number, served on a thin crust with a thin coating of tomato, cheese and basil. No muss, no fuss.

Chocolate Fondant with Raspberry Coulis and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

I rarely ever “do” desserts. I’m more of a savoury over sweet kind-of-girl. But this Chocolate Fondant made me food-o so hard at the table, it was unbelievable. I don’t think I have ever umm… done that over a dessert, let alone a chocolate one? It had that crumbly exterior, an interior of liquid chocolate silk and that vanilla bean ice cream was pretty bang on too.

I just LOVE this shot of Yvn from Excuse Me Waiter poking in. She kept apologising (bless her) but really, I think it made for a great shot! I also think this shot accurately captures the scene and mood of the event, just times it by 30!! It’s quite funny seeing yourself being reflected back at you 30 times!

Welcome to the Ladies Lunch, for a perfect way to get the girls out, for a glass and half and a meal that’s a steal.